IJII

Why would an observant Jew
whose ancestors hail from Aleppo, Syria be looking forward to again wearing
green on St. Patrick's Day?

In the 1840's when the great
Irish potato famine was decimating the Emerald Isle, a million or more were
killed and a population of desperate refugees was created, many of whom
thankfully found their way to the United States. It was a humanitarian crisis of
gargantuan proportions and that Jews were among those in the relief movement
created a stir, at least here in New York.

On March 10, 1847, Page One of
the New York Daily Globe reported that "a large and respectable assembly" had
gathered at Manhattan's Congregation Shearith Israel on Crosby Street to
organize an appeal for aid to Ireland. The chief speaker was the popular
minister and Hazzan [cantor], Jacques Judah Lyons who noted "no diversity of
opinion" on the facts of Irish suffering but "a great diversity of opinion as to
what we should do..." Looking towards his critics, his voice boomed to the back
of the Sephardic synagogue so he could be sure to be heard by all. "We are told
that we have a large number of our own poor and destitute to take care of! That
the charity we dispense should be bestowed in this quarter! That justice is a
higher virtue than generosity, that self-preservation is a law and principle of
our nature!"  Nevertheless, he argued, "thanks to the Lord," there is one
"indestructible" and "all-powerful" link between the Irish and the Jews: "that
link, my brethren, is humanity"

After the meeting, according to
the Globe, the sum of $175 was donated to the General Standing Committee for the
Relief of the Famishing Poor in Ireland.

End of story. Or at least
that's how the story could have ended.

One hundred years later, in
1947, as Jews in Palestine were struggling against terrible odds to establish a
state in their historic homeland of Israel, a charitable contribution arrived at
Shearith Israel, now in a majestic home on Central Park West, from some Irish
citizens of New York who requested that their donation be accepted in gratitude
for what the Congregation had done for their forbearers a century earlier. Judah
Guedalia, the sexton of the Congregation at the time, was humbled and proud to
share news of this contribution with many, including his daughter, Rose, to whom
he often said “when you take care of others, they take care of
you."

Now, was there the same
"diversity of opinion" among the Irish about whether to help the Jews?  How
could there not have been? Thankfully, in every group there are those, sometimes
in positions of leadership but sometimes not, who read a generous and common
Bible and call on their flock to help strangers, especially if they are
suffering.

Pointing to the bounty bestowed
by Providence on the Jews of America, Hazzan Lyons reminded his listeners that "No
devastating pestilence has invaded our shores; all with us is teeming with life
and health.  No dreadful blight has consumed our fields; all nature is
smiling in beauty and abundance.  No intestine commotions have threatened
the permanency of our liberties, our rights, our government.  Our national
enemies have prevailed not against us.  The elements themselves restrained
and tempered by a merciful God have spared our cities, our villages and our
plains, have been ministers to our comforts, auxiliaries to our happiness, our
prosperity."

So if you see me on the streets
and ask, "hey, Sam, you're Jewish, what's with the green?"  I'll tell you
that it's gratitude for all that I'm given and that it’s my task to care – for
the Irish and for all of us created in God’s own image.